Talk:Flow (psychology)

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Can someone substantiate the claim that "This is where the phrase 'go with the flow' comes from" with some serious etymology? I always thought that "go with the flow" had more to do with doing things the conventional way -- either that or acting the way that "everyone else does". --Ryguasu 05:51, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I do not have facts about the etymology, but I'm inclined to agree with Ryguasu. That is, "to go with the flow" does probably not come from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, but is of earlier origins. And I do believe that it means "to do things in the conventional way". --Tbackstr 09:55, Nov 15, 2004 (UTC)

Yep, I think you're right, guys, so I've removed that horrid, confused sentence with a new etymology section, using info from the chapter The Measurement of Flow in Everyday Life: Toward a Theory of Emergent Motivation by Csikszentmihalyi and Rathunde in the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, volume 40, 1993. Ppe42 14:49, August 8, 2005 (UTC)

This appears to share many things in common with Hack Mode from the hacker lexicon. Perhaps that should be mentioned. (anon edit by 69.19.19.219)

Good point. Btw: you can add stuff yourself, no need to ask others :-) Cheers, Peter S. 09:38, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps I'm from another planet (albeit an English speaking one, or so I always thought) -- but this sentence struck me as just way, way off: "The psychological concept of flow as becoming absorbed in an activity is thus unrelated to the older phrase "to go with the flow" which means "to conform"." In some contexts, a speaker may employ the term as a soft way to urge that someone else be a "team player" etc, but in general, "go with the flow" has always meant, I thought, simply "take things as they come" - which relates it to the idea of "being in the moment." I think this reference to conformity is confusing, and pulls the discussion into an unrelated territory. And really, why is an "etymology" section necessary? Surely the term is self-evident to anyone whose English is good enough to read the article.

[edit] Flow and Video Games

Video games seem designed to elicit "flow." (comment by Atticus)

Yeah, I noticed that, too. Tetris seems to be very good at this. Also, non-video game Sudoku is fantastic at inducing flow. Peter S. 11:25, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
I play a lot of rhythm games and I experience this all the time. I enjoy games such as Beatmania, Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, and other less popular rhythm games for the sole purpose of achieving flow. It is a good feeling.Andrew zot 07:21, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Personal definition after flow experiences

You know you had ‘Flow’ when you have just completed a challenging task, and you do not know where you got the extraordinary creativity from, that you just demonstrated. You felt exhilarated. Your concentration was so deeply focused on what you were doing that nothing else mattered. You performed at your peak, with extreme inner fulfillment, with the satisfaction that your previous limits were surpassed. The pure pleasure distilled from doing the task overwhelmed all external influences. It catapulted you into the harmonious flow of spontaneity, creativity, effectuality and natural psychic energy.--Louispalm 09:47, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Comparison between flow experience and video games is of course foundation of famous Zenclavier article. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ceplm (talk • contribs) 09:36, 18 December 2006 (UTC).
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